Embracing The Change

Jeffrey Mindell

The world has changed so quickly over the past 10 years it's hard to keep track.  Many of us around the world have access to infinite amounts of information at any hour of the day.  Often I will be lying in bed pondering some question I don't know the answer to and all I have to do is hop on the internet to instantly satisfy my curiosity.   Remember when you actually had to ask an expert or go to the library? 

Nor can I remember the last time I talked to someone about a phone bill or a plane ticket who spoke English as their native language.   The jobs that many of us would take for granted in America are being done gratefully by someone halfway around the world.

For thousands of years sages and wise people have been saying that we are all connected spiritually, now we are also connected by fiber optic cable.  The artificial walls and boundaries that have divided us have begun to crumble, and many are finding it frightening.  How does a dictator keep control over his country when his propaganda can be blogged about or fact checked on the internet?  It's hard to keep a population in ignorance when so much information is literally at their fingertips.

As the boundaries evaporate, we have the choice to expand or fight against the expansion.  When we fight the change, it has a way of fighting us back.  To someone who does not embrace this new world, it may seem as if the world has become overwhelming and frightening, and they may want to retreat into what is safe, what they know.  Perhaps that is why, at this time in our history, so many are finding safety and consolation in violent fundamentalism of all shapes and sizes.  The paradox is that at the same time so many are becoming more open-minded than any other time in history. 

The truth is that the world has changed, and I think for the better.  The sooner we realize that what we do in America directly impacts someone in India, New Zealand or Africa, and vice versa, the sooner we will take responsibility for our actions.  The change has already begun.  Look at how many are becoming conscious about the environment, or the fact that an African American and a woman are two of the lead contenders for President.  It's an exciting time to be alive.

I believe that we are starting to collectively understand that millions of billions of seemingly small choices made by individuals like you and me make an absolutely inconceivably large difference in the world.  So I say, let the walls crumble.  It's time that we accept that the fate of even the seemingly least important of us is the fate of us all.

Jeffrey Mindell is a poet, writer, lawyer and cartoonist, but not necessarily in that order.   He can be reached at jmindell@gmail.com